The Sports Xchange

New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul “severely injured” his hand in a fireworks accident in South Florida on Saturday night, according to reports.

Radio host Andy Slater at WINZ in Miami was the first to report the news on Twitter.

“Big Jason Pierre-Paul story about to break in S. Fla,” Slater tweeted Sunday. “He severely injured hand in fireworks accident.”

The full extent of the injuries is unknown, but ESPN.com reported that the injuries are not believed to threaten Pierre-Paul’s career.

The 26-year-old Pierre-Paul is a Deerfield Beach, Fla., native and played college football at the University of South Florida.

An image claiming to show Pierre-Paul’s van filled with fireworks for a Fourth of July celebration before the reported accident was tweeted on Saturday, along with other tweets claiming to have seen Pierre-Paul lighting fireworks.

Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole and FOX Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweeted confirmations that Pierre-Paul sustained a hand injury in a fireworks accident. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Pierre-Paul’s hand was treated in a hospital.

Pierre-Paul, the No. 15 pick in the 2010 draft and two-time Pro Bowl selection, recorded 77 tackles, 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles for the Giants last season. He has collected 286 tackles, 42 sacks, two interceptions and two touchdowns during his career. He had 16.5 sacks during the team’s 2011 Super Bowl season.

The Giants placed their franchise tag on Pierre-Paul in March, guaranteeing he will make at least $14.8 million next season unless the two sides agree on a longer-term deal by July 15.

—Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden already sees Robert Griffin III benefitting with the presence of full-time quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh.

Gruden coached the quarterbacks himself last season after taking a hands-on approach in his first year as a head coach.

Griffin struggled last season when the Redskins finished 4-12, passing for 1,694 yards and four touchdowns with six interceptions in nine games, and now Cavanaugh’s job is to get RG3 ready to turn things around.

Cavanaugh joins the Redskins with 22 seasons of coaching experience across the professional and collegiate levels.

Gruden already sees the decision of hiring Cavanaugh in January as the right one.

“Now we have a set of eyes strictly on the quarterback, and I think that’s important,” Gruden told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Every snap, every handoff, every dropback is being critiqued to make sure we do it the right way, and I think that’s been a big benefit for Robert.”

Griffin is confident Cavanaugh will help with his preparation.

“Bringing all that knowledge and experience, I think it’s helping everybody,” Griffin said of Cavanaugh. “He’s been with a lot of different teams and a lot of different offenses, and he knows a lot of different ways to get from point A to point B, and I think that helps us and helps me as a quarterback to go out there and see everything.”

—Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who said the NFL was acting out of spite when it forced the cancellation of his fantasy football convention in Las Vegas last month, plans another one next year in Los Angeles.

“We just wanted a chance to have fans interact with their favorite players,” Romo told his hometown newspaper in Burlington, Wis. “We’re going to do it next year in Los Angeles in 2016. It will be a chance to learn about fantasy football. You can learn about technique, why you should start someone versus certain coverages. Little things that the average person wouldn’t know the details on.”

The inaugural National Fantasy Football Convention was canceled after the league informed the NFL Players Association that the event scheduled for July 10-12 would be in violation of NFL rules by being held at a casino property. The three-day event was scheduled to be hosted by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. All of the sessions were to be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, which does not have on-site gambling.